A Class Act On And Off The Field

First Try to Martha

by Andrew Fitzsimmons, Sydney Morning Herald

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No, really, you fair dinkum gotta love this city. Take the scene on the banks of St Joseph's College main oval last Sunday afternoon, a day after the Riverview 1st XV had defeated Joeys before about 15,000 people. There the Joeys class of '83 found themselves gathering for a barbecue to celebrate the end of their twenty-year reunion weekend. The steaks went down a treat, as did the wine and beer, and as the sun shone strong the years fell away.

So, what the hell? Why not play a bit of a muck­ around game of footy on the main oval as they did in yesteryear's yore? So they did. The only slightly odd thing was the attractive woman who scored the first try.

She was not a wife or a girlfriend but rather a former classmate who, after a brief period of not knowing whether she was Arthur or Martha, had decided on "Martha" and soon after school finished had the gender-altering operation.

Of course it goes without saying Martha was a winger when at school, but she was warmly welcomed back the night before by the 100 former classmates who attended the reunion, with not one stray bit of bigoted nastiness. It was admirable, as were the 1000 or so Joeys boys who stood and applauded Riverview on the previous day after their deserved G.P.S. victory. You just gotta love this city!

This is an article that was written in the "Fitz Files" about my classmates and me and our recent school reunion. The "Fitz Files" column is written for the sports pages of the Sydney Morning Herald, by a sports journalist known for his open-mindedness and sense of fair play.

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